


help, 'cause I need saving

by Trebleclefstories



Category: Grey's Anatomy
Genre: 6 + 1, Dorks in Love, Emerald City Bar | Joe's Bar (Grey's Anatomy), F/M, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital (Grey's Anatomy), I Watched Too Much Grey's Anatomy, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Inspired by Grey's Anatomy, Season 9 AU, Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital (Grey's Anatomy), jolex, jolex endgame
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-09
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-15 10:21:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29312511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trebleclefstories/pseuds/Trebleclefstories
Summary: six times Jo and Alex saved each other from horrible dates and the one time they didn’t
Relationships: Alex Karev/Jo Wilson
Comments: 8
Kudos: 34
Collections: The Group Chat's Fics





	1. six times

**Author's Note:**

> a two-part fic taking place in a season 9 alternate universe

**_One_ **

“Yeah, you know I just really think it’s weird for a woman to be a surgeon. I don’t know, it just doesn’t sit right with me. I feel like your skills would be of better use in…”

Jo drowned out the voice of the man sitting across from her, willing herself to not give an outburst as a result of her date’s misogynistic comments. She should’ve known that he would be a sexist asshole the moment she heard his name. No self-respecting guy goes by Trent. But no, William Trenton III, insisted on being called Trent because Billy was his grandpa and Will was his father. 

She wanted to bang her head against the table and throw a tortilla chip in Trent’s eyeball. Her patience was quickly fading and Jo was struggling to think of a good enough reason to bail on this guy that Stephanie had set her up with. From the corner of her eye, she watched as Alex Karev walked into the bar. Despite what she’d originally told him about she’d never sleep with him, Jo couldn’t deny that she was extremely attracted to him. It honestly wouldn’t take much from his part to get into her pants. Especially since she’d started spending more time on his service, learning from him and growing as a surgeon. They weren’t exactly friends, but ever since she had shared her tragic backstory with him, there was a sort of kinship between the two doctors. 

Hoping he would catch on to the hints she was dropping, Jo looked over at her superior with a desperate expression on her face. Locking eyes with her, Alex tilted his head in question at the intern. Jo motioned to her date with her head and mouthed the words “help me” as discreetly as she could. Alex raised an eyebrow and his lips twisted up into a smirk as he realized the situation. 

Schooling his expression, Alex walked over to the table with a serious look on his face, “Wilson!”

“Dr. Karev,” Jo feigned surprise. “Is something wrong?”

“Hate to break up your date, but we’re being paged for a trauma. Let’s go,” Alex pointed towards the door. “Now.”

Jo scurried up from the table, grabbed her purse, and mumbled an insincere apology to Trent as she exited the booth and followed Alex out the door. Once they were outside, Jo let out a sigh of relief, “Oh God, thank you so much. I thought my brain was going to melt if I kept talking to him for one more second.”

“That bad huh?” Alex chuckled. “You looked pretty miserable there.”

“It was horrible,” Jo leaned against the outside brick wall. “He kept talking about how the OR was no place for a woman and that my skills would be of better use in the kitchen when I told him that I’m a surgeon. He was a sexist asshole that I hope never has any children because his daughters will grow up oppressed and his sons will grow up to be oppressors.”

Alex nodded, an amused expression on his face, “So, it was worse than bad. Got it.” He leaned against the wall next to her. “Well, I’m glad you got out of that horrible date, but now you owe me a drink.”

“What?” Jo raised her eyebrows. 

“I was going on there to get a drink to wind down after a long day but instead I had to fake a page to get you out of there. I can’t exactly pop back in. So, now you owe me a drink to make up for the one I gave up to help you,” Alex stated, hands in his pockets.

“That’s fair,” Jo conceded. “Well, I know this place near my apartment that does buy two, get one half off beers. It’s not as nice as Joe’s but it’ll do the trick for one night.”

“Lead the way Wilson.”

  
  


+++

**_Two_ **

He wasn't quite sure how he got here. But after friending an old high school classmate on Facebook, Alex found himself on probably one of the worst dates he'd ever been on with Britney Bowers from his high school English class. He was glad that he told her to meet him at Joe's so that he could fake a patient emergency and never call Britney back again.

“I think it’s just so important to eat healthy and live a clean lifestyle. People are so focused on all the illnesses there are nowadays but they refuse to see all the wonderful things that nature has to offer us. I guarantee you that none of that modern medicine stuff is necessary if people just ate the right foods. You see it all comes down to your gut. That’s the root of all the diseases. If we eat healthy then we don’t get sick and there’s no need for medication or vaccines or the healthcare field,” Britney’s ignorance seeped through as she voiced her opinion in conversation. “It’s such a scam, all of it. It’s just Big Pharma that wants your money and everyone is in on it. Why do you think doctors make such good money? I bet half the time they treat you, there’s nothing wrong with you or there’s something that can be remedied naturally that they’re refusing to acknowledge because it takes away from drug companies that stuff money in their pockets.”

“You do know I’m a surgeon, right?” Alex stared at her incredulously. 

Britney laughed awkwardly, "Oh, I'm not talking about you. I'm sure you aren't trying to scam people for their money. I'm just… you must know a lot of people who do."

"Nope, I don't," Alex shook his head. "Most of the people I work with are just trying to save your life, not take your money. We aren't the ones in charge of billing." 

"Huh," Britney stared at him dumbly. 

Much to his luck, Jo had been sitting at the bar witnessing the travesty and found it in herself to be merciful. She walked up to the table with her best innocent expression and spoke, "Dr. Karev, I'm so sorry, you told me not to bother you tonight, but I was monitoring Lily Phillips vitals and I noticed that her SATs started dropping again. I know her parents were hoping not to have to operate again, but I think you should come in and see if there's something more serious going on."

Alex’s eyebrows shot up when he saw who had come to his rescue. Realizing that this was his out, Alex stood up, “Crap. Yeah, lets go.” He turned to face Britney. “Listen, it was great catching up, but I’ve got to go.” 

“Oh, no worries, I get that you’re busy,” Britney flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder. “You can always call me and we can continue this another day.” 

“Sure,” Alex smiled awkwardly, trying not to glare when he heard Jo’s quiet snort. “Goodbye.” 

As soon as they were outside, Jo burst into laughter, “Wow, that was hard to watch. ‘There’s no need for medicines or vaccines or the healthcare field.’ Please, if it weren’t for modern medicine, natural selection would have weeded her out a long time ago.”

Alex laughed along with Jo, “You’re not wrong.” 

“How did you even meet her?” Jo asked as they walked over to their cars. 

“We went to high school together,” Alex huffed in annoyance. “She found me on Facebook and sent me a message. I answered like an idiot. She said that she moved here a couple months ago and was surprised to see that I was living here too. She asked if we could meet up and since I didn’t want to be a complete jerk, I said yes. I also kind of had a thing for her back in the day, so I guess I wanted to see what she was like after all these years. Not making that mistake again.” 

“Yikes,” Jo grimaced. “Well, on the bright side, now you know that you wouldn’t have worked anyway, being that she believes we’re in cahoots with Big Pharma.” 

“You’re right,” Alex chuckled. He looked over at Jo gratefully. Ever since Bailey’s wedding when they fake cried their way into a stranger’s hotel room two weeks ago, they became fast friends. Honestly, Jo was probably one of the people he trusted most in the world. Not to mention she was really hot, which was clouding Alex’s head with all kinds of confusing things, especially when his friends were hell-bent on insisting that he and Jo were more than friends. All he knew was that he enjoyed her company and found himself wanting to spend more time with her. “What do you say we go get some pizza and beers and eat them at my place?”

“Sounds great to me.” 

  
  


+++

  
  


**_Three_ **

  
  


“So… I’m going on a date tonight.”

Alex raised his eyebrows as he looked over to Jo who’d come up next to him by the fourth floor nurses station, “Okay… and?”

“And, I need you to be on-call in case I need to get out of there,” Jo rested her chin in her hands. 

“You want me to sit by my phone all night waiting for you to call me just in case your date goes bad?” Alex made a face. “If you’re so worried, why are you going out with this guy anyway?”

“Because my drunk ass may have agreed to go on a date with him after you left me alone at Joe’s last night,” Jo narrowed her eyes. “This is why you can’t leave me alone while I’m drunk. I can’t be trusted. I make stupid decisions while drunk.”

“It wasn’t like I wanted to leave. I got paged,” Alex rolled his eyes.

“Ah, yes. I’m sure you tell all the girls that,” Jo grinned sarcastically. 

“Shut up,” Alex sighed and placed the chart down on the counter. “Where’s your date and what time is it at?”

“It’s at the movie theater ten minutes away from here,” Jo answered. “I haven’t been on a movie date since I was sixteen. That’s how I know that it’s going to be interesting…”

“Fine. I’ll be at Joe’s with my ringer on and a bottle of beer, trying to think of a creative way to bail you out,” Alex crossed his arms. “But if an hour goes by and you still haven’t called me, I’m going to assume it’s not horrible and I’ll worry about myself. Maybe I’ll pick up some chick and get laid.”

“You’re the best! I’ll text you later,” Jo smiled brightly as walked away to finish her shift. 

Sure enough, later that evening, Alex snorted when his phone lit up with a message from Jo. 

_J: Save me please_

_A: Dude, you haven’t even been there for 20 minutes_

_J: I know but I need to get out of here ASAP. He’s creepy and I feel uncomfortable._

_His name is Brock. BROCK!_

_A: Don’t panic_

_I’m coming._

_What do you want me to do? Interrupt the theater?_

_J: Yes. I don’t know… just help me. And the movie hasn’t started yet. We’re just watching the previews._

_A: I’ll be there in ten minutes_

_I’m going to call and text you fifteen times now_

_Don’t answer, it’s part of my plan_

  
  


Ten minutes later, Alex was standing in front of the ticket booth bargaining with one of the workers. 

“Listen man, I don’t need to sneak into a movie. I’m a surgeon. I’ve got the twelve dollars you need to get in, but I’m telling you, this is an emergency.”

“I’m sorry sir, but I cannot let you in there. Especially now that the movie is about to start any second,” the young ticketmaster said. 

“Dude, you’re not getting it. I’m not asking to go in there. I’m asking you to get someone to interrupt the theater _before_ the movie starts and get her,” Alex huffed. “Her phone is on silent, so she probably hasn’t realized that she had about twenty missed calls. Her brother was just in a car accident and might not live to see tomorrow. I think you can make an exception just this once.”

The teenager looked back and forth between Alex and the theater and sighed, “Fine. What’s her name again?” 

Back in the screening room, Jo was bouncing her leg anxiously as the lights began to dim, signaling the start of the film. She looked at Brock warily as he attempted to rest his hand on her thigh. She brushed it away and chewed on her lip, hoping that whatever plan Alex had in place would begin soon, so that she would have to be stuck watching the movie with this creep. 

Suddenly, the lights brightened again, and she watched as one of the teenaged workers walked into the front of the theater. 

“I’m so sorry for the inconvenience, but I’m looking for a Josephine Wilson.”

The moviegoers grumbled at the interruption, but Jo shot up in her seat, “Yes. That’s me!” 

The worker walked up the steps to her level and spoke, “I’m so sorry, ma’am. But your friend Alex is outside. He says he’s been trying to contact you and you haven’t answered.”

“We’re on a date, of course she hasn’t answered the damn phone,” Brock sneered. “What the hell could be more important than this?”

The teenager looked down apologetically, “He said that he’s called you about twenty times. It’s an emergency.”

Finally catching on to Alex’s plan, Jo suppressed a laugh. She looked down at her phone and indeed saw all the missed calls that he’d warned her not to answer, “Oh my God. It says he called me nineteen times. What happened?”

“Ma’am, your brother has been in an accident,” the worker—Vinny, as described by his name tag—gave her a sympathetic look. “I was told it was really bad.”

“Oh God,” Jo pressed a hand to her mouth and got to work on her fake tears. “Is… is he alive?”

“I’m not sure,” Vinny shook his head. “But I think you should come outside and head over the hospital with your friend. 

“Yes, yes of course,” Jo nodded as a couple tears made their way down her face. 

“I’ll go with you,” Brock stood up from his seat. 

“No!” Jo said, almost too quickly. Shaking her head, she held a hand up. “No. It’s alright. Stay here. Enjoy the movie. We can always go out another day.”

“Okay…” Brock sat back down and watched as Jo walked out of the theater, not realizing that he had no way of contacting her until it was too late. 

When Jo exited, she kept up her facade and ran straight into Alex’s arms, fake tears staining his shirt. He rubbed her back soothingly, “Hey. It’s okay. We’re gonna go see him now.” Alex looked back at the kid. “Thanks for your help.”

“No problem,” Vinny waved his hand. “I hope everything works out with your brother, ma’am.”

“Thank you,” Jo sniffed and wiped a couple tears. She looked up at Alex. “Can we go?”

“Yeah,” Alex led her out of Vinny’s view and into the parking lot. 

As soon as they entered the car, Jo and Alex both burst into laughter. Jo held her stomach as she laughed, “When I said yes to interrupting the theater, I didn’t think you’d actually do it.” Jo wiped her eyes on her sleeve. “My brother was in a horrible accident? Do you know how hard it was not to laugh at that? I don’t have a brother.”

“It was the first thing I could come up with,” Alex took a few deep breaths in an effort to calm his laughs. “You were great in there, though. The crying was very convincing.”

“Thanks,” Jo giggled. “You know he tried to come with me? Brock.”

“That right there—his name—should’ve been a red flag from the get go,” Alex chuckled. “You were right though, fake crying gets you out of everything.”

“Stick with me and maybe I’ll teach you some other tricks,” Jo grinned.

They stared at each other with mirth in their eyes for a few moments. There was no denying that there was something brewing between the two of them. As much as they tried to ignore it, there was this connection that neither of them could quite explain. It was comforting but electric at the same time. But neither of them were bold enough to take it any further. 

“What do you say we get some fried chicken and eat it in the car like we were raised to do?” Alex suggested. 

“I’d say… I think I love you,” Jo joked. “In all seriousness though, let’s get out of here before Brock comes looking for me.”

“Yeah, probably a good idea.”

  
  


+++

**_Four_ **

  
  


“So you know how helping each other get out of dates now is our thing?” Alex said as he fell into step with Jo as she exited the intern locker room. 

“Is it now?” Jo raised an eyebrow in amusement. “Didn’t know that.”

“Oh come on. I’ve helped out get out of two really bad dates already, and I expect you to return the favor,” Alex gave her a sideways glance. 

“Mhmm,” Jo hummed. “What kind of trouble did you get yourself into this time, Karev?”

“I haven’t gotten myself into anything yet,” Alex placed his hands on his hips. “I’ve got a date tonight with this blonde chick named Tiffany. I met her last night while I was out grocery shopping. She seems pretty nice, normal, but then again, I met her in the frozen food section so who knows what she’s like. Anyway, I was hoping you’d be available to get me out of it in case things go horribly.”

“I’d love to, but it all depends on what time I get out of here tonight,” Jo sighed. “I’m on Medusa’s—I’m sorry, I mean Dr. Grey’s service today.”

“No you’re not,” Alex shook his head. “I switched with her.”

“What? Why?” Jo scrunched her eyebrows as they approached the elevator. “Is this because you want me available to bail you out?”

“No. Well… yes, but it’s not the only reason,” Alex pressed the elevator button. “Murphy was on my service and I know it’s been months but she still gives me those creepy, weird looks and I don’t feel like dealing with her today.”

Jo snorted in laughter, “You are such a douche.”

“Whatever. She knew what she was getting into when she slept with me,” Alex shrugged. “So, if I let you out when I leave, will you hang around in case I need you.”

“I guess,” Jo faked annoyance.

“Great, thanks.”

By the time the date rolled around, Alex had been pretty optimistic. Sure, Tiffany wasn’t the girl he wanted to go out with, but since he couldn’t date the one person he wanted to date, Alex was doing his best to try to find someone he could make it last with. So far, he wasn’t having the best luck.

It started out normal, great even. So great that for a while there, Alex thought about texting Jo and letting her know that maybe he wouldn’t need her tonight. He discovered that he was very wrong rather quickly. 

Tiffany was beautiful, he couldn’t deny that. But she was _too_ clingy. To the point that it was actually scaring him. He was sure if this went any further and they broke up, he’d have an ex who wouldn’t take no for an answer—or worse, a stalker on his hands. 

Sending a quick text message to Jo under the table, he waited for a reply. 

_A: Definitely going to need your help tonight_

_J: what happened?_

_A: She’s too clingy. Bad clingy. Creepy clingy._

_Take a lock of my hair and clone me later clingy._

_J: Yikes. Where are you again?_

_A: The club across the street from that diner we like to eat at._

_I should’ve known it would be bad when she suggested going to a club on the first date_

_J: You think?_

_I’ll be there in fifteen_

_A: Please hurry_

  
  


True to her word, fifteen minutes later, Alex watched as Jo entered the club and took a seat at the bar. He spent about five minutes looking back and forth between Tiffany and Jo, who’d taken to flirting with a couple guys that had come up to her in the short time since she’d arrived. Bouncing his leg impatiently, Alex sent another angry text to Jo. 

_A: What the hell are you doing?_

_You’re supposed to be helping me, remember? Not trying to get laid._

“Is everything okay?” Tiffany asked. “It’s just, you keep looking at your phone.”

“Yeah, everything’s fine,” Alex rubbed a hand on his neck awkwardly. 

In that moment, Alex heard a gasp from his right side. Jo had materialized and wore an angry expression, “You!”

“Me?” Alex pointed to himself, confused as to what her play was. 

“Oh my God. You don’t even remember me,” Jo clutched her drink in her hand. “I shouldn’t be surprised. You’re a hump ‘em and dump ‘em kind of guy.” 

“What did I do?” Alex widened his eyes as he waited for Jo’s cue. 

“What did you do? What did you do!” Jo’s eyes hesitated for a split second before she threw her drink in his face. “Thanks for the syphilis, you ASSHOLE!” She turned to face Tiffany before walking off. “Don’t waste your time!”

Sitting there in shock, Alex watched as Tiffany rose from the couch they'd been sitting on to look at Alex with a face of disgust, “And to think, I had picked out our kids names.” 

Once Tiffany grabbed her face and exited the club, Jo came back with a semi-apologetic, but mostly amused face, “I’m so sorry about your shirt, but that was awesome! I’ve always wanted to do that.”

“Yeah, I bet you’re having the time of your life right now,” Alex glared.

“Hey, you told me to get rid of her and that’s what I did,” Jo defended, a shit-eating grin on her face. “Come on, I have one of your old t-shirts in my car.”

“Why do you have one of my t-shirts in your car?” Alex scrunched his face in question. The thought of her having one of his shirts in her car did things to his brain that he wasn’t even sure how to vocalize. 

“It’s from the last time I crashed at your place on the nice, comfy couch I bought you,” Jo smiled. 

“Yeah, with my money.”

“Semantics,” Jo waved her hand. “Anyway, let’s get out of this hell hole and go to watch movies at your house.”

Alex rolled his eyes at her antics, “Fine.”

  
  


+++

  
  


**_Five_ **

  
  


Alex should’ve said no the moment April Kepner offered to set him up on a date. Knowing Kepner, he should’ve known what kind of thing he’d be getting himself into. But when she came up to him with a request from a former patient’s daughter who thought he was attractive, he found himself having trouble saying no and ended up agreeing to the date.

That’s how he ended up spending the past 20 minutes staring across the table at a woman who might as well have been the carbon copy of Izzie Stevens. 

He’d truly tried to give the woman a chance and not associate her with his ex-wife, but the longer they spoke, the more freaked out he was getting by the whole situation. Especially when she started talking about her love of baking.

“I’m gonna go use the bathroom real fast,” Alex started to stand from his seat.

“Oh yeah, no worries,” the woman waved her hand. 

The moment he stepped foot into the bathroom, Alex searched for his cellphone in his pocket and dialed the one number he needed to get him out of this situation. It rang four times before a voice came through the speakers.

_“Hello?”_

“Dude, I need you to get me out of here right now,” Alex whispered into the phone. “I’m at the bar and grill 20 minutes away. I can’t do this anymore. I can’t stand this for another minute.”

_“What’s wrong with this one?”_ Jo chuckled on the other line. 

“She looks like my ex-wife,” Alex hissed into the phone. “She’s got strawberry blonde hair but they have the same face. Their brown eyes are the same. Sure her tits are smaller than Izzie 's were, but they even have the same creepy, overly perky laugh. And her name is Katherine. That was Izzie’s middle name. But she insists on me calling her Kitty Kat.” 

Jo snorted into the phone, _“Gosh, you really know how to pick them. What do you want me to do? How are we going to play this?”_

"First of all, I didn't pick her," Alex paused. "Kepner set me up."

_"Mistake number one right there,"_ Jo giggled in amusement. _"Okay, again, how do you want to play this?"_

“I don’t know,” Alex shrugged helplessly. “Pretend you’re my girlfriend and come in here kicking and screaming at me because I’m a cheating asshole or something.” 

_“Wow, you’re really desperate this time aren’t you. Aren’t you traumatized from what I did last time?”_ Jo laughed at his expense. _“Okay, I’m changing out of my scrubs right now. Give me half an hour. I’ll figure out a story on my way there.”_

“Thank you,” Alex sighed in relief. 

He made his way back to the table giving Kathrine an awkward smile as she continued to yap on and on about some cooking show she’d almost been a contestant on. He was about ready to gouge his eyes out with his fork when he saw Jo walk towards the outdoor area where he and Katherine were sitting with an oddly shaped bundle in her hands. 

“What the hell Alex? Tell me why I just got off the phone with your mother only to find out that you were supposedly at dinner with me, when you told me you were working late,” Jo exclaimed, causing the bundle in her arms to let out a cry. 

Alex stared at her in shock, wondering where the hell she had gotten a baby from. He hoped the very real confusion on his face would come across as shock to Katherine, who was sitting there, jaw dropped and eyes wide, watching the scene unfold. Alex opened his mouth, "Jo—"

"Don't, Alex. Just don't," Jo held up one hand as she rocked the now screaming baby. "I know things have been difficult since the baby was born, but I really expected more than this. I don't know when you stopped loving me, but I expected more respect as the mother of your child. I thought you'd have the decency to at least tell me the truth! Instead of lying to me and your _mother,_ about where you were and who you were with."

Alex looked back and forth between Jo and Kathrine, unsure of what to say. Jo was really selling it this time and he did not want to throw her off by saying the wrong thing, "Jo, I—"

"Shut up, Alex. Just shut up and hold your son," Jo shoved the crying baby into his hands only to scoff when the child stopped crying immediately after landing in Alex's arms. "Of course! Of course he calms down as soon as you hold him. I'm done!" Jo threw her hands up in the air and turned on her feet back towards the car. 

Alex cradled the child close to his chest and looked up at Katherine, “I should go…" 

Much like Izzie used to do, Katherine turned up her nose indignantly, "Yes, and I think it's best if we never see each other again."

"Yup," Alex nodded sheepishly as he made his way out of the outdoor seating area and to Jo's car.

Rocking the small infant in one arm, Alex opened the car door with his free hand and sat inside the passenger seat, staring at Jo who smiled at him. 

“How was that for a rescue?” 

“Where the hell did you get this baby from?” Alex scrunched his face in question. “Please don’t tell me you stole some stranger’s baby.”

“I didn’t steal the baby,” Jo shook her head, a smile playing at her lips. She bent over to stroke the baby’s head. “I signed up to be one of the people that picks up the safe haven babies after they’re dropped off at the fire stations. I got the call about this little guy two minutes before you called me to get you out of your date. I picked him up and came to get you. Which honestly, I would’ve interrupted your date regardless because I wanted you to be the one to give him a check up. I’m supposed to head to the hospital with him now.”

Alex watched as Jo became entranced with the little boy currently resting in his arms. She was a natural when it came to kids, and it showed now as she fussed over a whole bunch of details he hadn’t thought of himself. He opened his mouth in confusion, “Wait, so you used a kid abandoned by his mother at a fire station to play our fake son and get me out of my date with my ex-wife’s doppelganger?”

“Yeah, that pretty much sums it up,” Jo took the infant from his hands and looked at him lovingly. “Come here you little guy. I know it must be scary to be away from your mommy, but I have to believe she did this because she thought she was giving you your best chance. She might not have been able to give you a home, but I will make sure that you end up in a very nice home, with some very nice people, who can give you all the love you deserve.” 

Seeing this side of Jo was incredibly sweet. She was so tender with the child resting in her arms, cuddling him so that he’d never know that he’d been abandoned; so that he would be surrounded with love. Alex knew instantly she would be an amazing mother one day. What scared him though, was that he’d begun picturing himself in that position with her. 

Jo sighed dreamily, “Okay. We’ve got to take him to the hospital for a check up and contact a social worker. If we don’t do it now, I’m afraid I’ll fall in love with him and take him home with me.” 

A crooked smile pulled at the corner of Alex’s lips, “Here, I’ll get him into the car seat and sit in the back with him. You drive.”

  
  


+++

**_Six_ **

“That’s going to be fun. I’m especially excited for that kid’s next eighteen years.” 

They had just finished monitoring a newborn with the most difficult set of parents Alex had ever gotten a chance to work with. When he and Jo were paged down to OB for the case that morning, he never would’ve guessed that the parents would end up being coworkers who hated each other, hooked-up once, and ended up with a baby. But hey, not much surprised him these days. Still, the success of the little boy making it past the benchmark was a special moment for the two parents, who despite their differences were able to come together to make a decision in favor of their child's health. 

The situation inspired a conversation between Jo and Alex regarding workplace relationships. If Alex was being honest, he was a bit biased when it came to his ansevers. Ever since Jo had all but dragged him into that linen closet to celebrate their win against Cahill with powdered sugar donuts last night, he could not get her out of his mind. Working with her today made him realize just how much he enjoyed her company. They'd grown so close in the last couple months and if he let himself, he could see them potentially becoming more.

Deciding to take initiative, Alex turned towards Jo, “Hey, do you want to go get a beer?”

“Oh, I would love to. Especially after today, but I actually already have plans," Jo waved over to a guy standing in the hallway wearing pink scrubs. "Tomorrow night? Is that cool?”

“Yeah… yeah that’s cool,” Alex looked at the guy suspiciously. "So, you have a date tonight? With someone from OB?"

"Yeah," Jo smiled nervously. "I've been wanting to ask him out for a while now, but, well you know my luck when it comes to dating. Anyway, I finally got the balls to do it today. We’re just going to Joe’s."

“Huh,” Alex nodded. For the first time, Alex felt strange knowing that she would be going out on a date with someone else. “Well, if you need help getting out of it, I’ll probably be hanging around the bar too.” 

“You know, I don’t think I’ll need you this time. I feel really good about this one,” Jo beamed. She looked over at the doctor in pink scrubs before turning back to Alex. “Jason is waiting for me. I’m going to go change for my date. I’ll see you later.” 

“Yeah, see you later,” Alex waved lamely at her. 

He seriously considered forgoing a drink at Joe’s altogether. He didn’t want to see the girl he was falling for having fun on a date with some guy that wore pink scrubs to work on a daily basis. But another side of him wanted to keep an eye on Jo and make sure she was okay. He wanted to be around in case something happened or that Jason guy tried to pull something fishy. 

When Jo first saw Jason, she was immediately attracted to him. Who wouldn’t? He was hot and delivered babies for a living. After going on failed date after failed date over the past few months, Jo wanted a win. Besides, she needed a distraction from the thoughts invading her head about Alex. Because it definitely was not appropriate to think of your friend in the way she’d begun to think of him over the past few months. Especially when said friend was a pediatric surgeon who held babies on a daily basis and she’d begun picturing what he’d look like holding their own child. Yeah, that was a glaring warning that she was treading into dangerous territory with Alex. 

What she hadn’t banked on was Jason being the worst date she’d ever been on. From the outside, they looked like a normal, carefree couple, but something within her was raising some giant, blaring red flags. Maybe it was the way Jason had insulted and disapproved of her close friendship with Alex the moment they walked out of the peds wing earlier that evening. Maybe it was the way he mansplained everything and spoke down to her. Maybe it was the way he roughly grabbed her arm and raised his voice when she said something he disagreed with. 

She needed an out and she needed one fast. 

Alex was standing in the corner of the bar playing darts, periodically glancing at Jo and the guy she was with. He made sure to get a really good look at this Jason guy, memorizing his face enough to imagine it on the dart board as he flicked his wrist and hit a bullseye. One second he was pulling a dart out of the board and taking a swig of his beer and the next, someone was tugging on his arm to get his attention. 

“Kiss me,” Jo looked up at him with wide eyes. 

“What?” Alex sputtered his drink. 

“Jason. He’s the worst one Alex. The worst. And he’s at the bar getting more drinks and I need to get away from him,” Jo rambled. 

“I still don’t understand how—”

“Just kiss me,” Jo blurted, eyes desperate. “Public displays of affection make people uncomfortable.”

“Yes, they do,” Alex responded dumbly, still unsure as to what was going on. 

He didn’t have any time to think about it though, because as before he knew what was going on, Alex was being pulled into a searing kiss. While this wasn’t the way he’d pictured his first kiss with Jo going, he wasn’t complaining. Not when he could feel her this close to him. Not when her tongue met his own. Not when he could hear her whimpers as she deepened the kiss. 

They could’ve kept going. They would’ve kept going, if it weren’t for Jason’s angry interruption, “You little bitch. I should’ve known you were a liar when you said that there was nothing going on between you and Karev.”

“Jason—” Jo attempted a weak protest. 

“No, you know what? I dodged a bullet with you Wilson. I don’t need to be dating a whore,” Jason’s fists balled up at his sides. 

Seeing the red in Jason’s eyes and his fists ready to strike, Alex intervened, “Don’t you dare call her that or any insult ever again. She’s not your girlfriend, she’s not even your friend. She didn’t cheat on you. So, if I hear you ever disrespect her like that again, you’re gonna want to skip town and that’s a promise.”

Jason glared at them in disgust before turning on his heels and walking out of the bar. 

It wasn’t until Jason was long gone that they were reminded of what had happened minutes prior. Staring up at each other with the strangest expressions on their faces, Alex and Jo waited in silence for a moment. Because what were you supposed to say when you kissed your best friend and you liked it?

The question was, where do they go from here? 

With the surfacing of Jo’s thoughts about Alex blaring loudly in her mind, Jo mumbled a small, “thank you” in order to avoid the very real possibility that she’d just thrown this friendship down the toilet. 

Alex nodded awkwardly at her appreciation, “Yeah… don’t mention it.”

And for the first time in months, the end of a horrendous date was not celebrated with Jo and Alex hanging out. It was spent alone. 


	2. plus one

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the one time they didn’t need to be bailed out of a date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoy the second part to this two-shot :)

**The one time they didn’t need to be bailed out of a date**

  
  


"You look mopey-er than normal," Cristina commented as she walked into the house. "What's up with you?"

"Nothing," Alex frowned and took a swig of his beer.

"Where's the hairball? I normally would've seen her by now but I haven't seen her in the past few days," Cristina watched as Alex sat on the couch in silence. "So that's what's got you all depressed. What happened? Did she realize that you're a jerk and stop hanging out with you?"

"I kissed her."

"What?" Cristina raised her eyebrows. 

"I kissed her," Alex repeated. "Or maybe she kissed me. I don't know. All I know is that she has been avoiding me for the past five days since it happened."

“Crap,” Cristina sat down on the couch next to him. “Well, was it bad?”

“No it wasn’t bad,” Alex shook his head. “At least, not for me it wasn’t. I—I’m just… such an idiot. I love her.” 

Cristina stared at him in mild shock that he had actually said the words, “Woah.”

“Yeah,” Alex sighed. “I don’t know what to do. She doesn’t want me. If she did, she would’ve realized that I was trying to ask her to go out with me for drinks that night she decided to go out with that douche Peckwell.”

“Wow, you really are an idiot,” Alex glared as Cristina rolled her eyes. “You two are drinking buddies, friends, joined at the hip. All you ever do together is drink beer and hang out. Of course she’s not going to realize that you were asking her to go on a date with you. It’s what you always do together anyway. You may not realize it, but you’ve been unofficially dating each other for the past few months without knowing it.”

“Well it doesn’t really matter now. Whatever we had going on is over,” Alex huffed in frustration. “I always screw myself out of everything good.”

“How are you going to know it’s over if you haven’t even talked to her about it, dumbass?” Cristina swatted him on the side of his head. “Put on your big girl panties and just talk to her.”

“I don’t want to make her uncomfortable. I’m her boss,” Alex made a weak excuse. 

“That’s a load of crap and you know it,” Cristina sighed. “Whatever, you can wallow in your pit of sorrow by yourself. I’m going to get ready because Owen’s coming over.”

+++

He should’ve known that things wouldn’t end there. Cristina was persistent, and although she claimed not to care, she was deeply invested in her friends’ lives and did her best to help them when she could. It was a side of Yang that very few people rarely got to see and being one of her oldest friends, Alex was one of them. And since he was one of her oldest friends, Cristina had also enlisted Meredith for help.

“Come on, don’t be like that. It’s a date, at a nice restaurant with great booze. It won’t be the end of the world if you go,” Cristina brought up the subject as they were getting ready for rounds a few days later. 

“Look, I get what you’re trying to do here, but I’m just not ready for that. I don’t want to go on a date with somebody else,” Alex shrugged his arms through his white coat. "And this time I won't have anyone to get me out of it when it inevitably goes bad."

"I'll get you out of it," Cristina offered. "Yeah, I'll have my phone with me and fake page you for an emergency if it goes horribly."

"Really?" Alex raised his eyebrow. "You actually are trying to help me? You're not trying to embarass me or anything like that?"

"Now that would just be cruel. I wouldn't kick you while you're down," she rolled her eyes. "Just go on the damn date. I promise, I think you'll enjoy it."

"Fine," Alex huffed in annoyance. "I'll go. But if I hate it,You owe me the money I spent on the date."

"Yeah, yeah," Cristina waved her hand as she walked away. Cristina rounded the corner and ran into the person she'd been looking for.

"Dr.Yang!"

"Edwards," Cristina placed her hands on her hips and looked at the intern expectantly. "Well, did you do it?"

"Yup," Stephanie nodded enthusiastically. " It took some time to convince her because she is still hung up over Karev, but I promised her that I'd save her if her mystery date went horribly."

"I had to do the same thing with Alex," Cristina chuckled. "Okay, I am going to go tell Meredith to make sure that she lets Wilson leave early. And because you spied on your friend and helped me out, you get to scrub in on my aortic valve surgery. Go prep her for surgery now” 

“Thank you Dr. Yang!” Stephanie grinned. “I’ll see you in thirty minutes.” 

Cristina sighed and made her way to the lounge where Meredith was eating a snack, “Mer!” 

“Dammit Cristina, you made me drop my cookie on the floor,” Meredith glared at her friend. 

“I’ll buy you a new one,” Cristina sat across from her. “You have Wilson on your service today, right?”

“Yeah,” Meredith huffed and ran a hand over her belly. 

“Okay so you remember how I talked to you about getting Alex and Wilson together?” 

“Mmhmm,” Meredith hummed and continued to eat her snack. “I thought it was a good idea and helped you pick the place for the date. What about it?”

“Well, it’s happening tonight, so I need you to make sure that the hairball makes it there in time,” Cristina reached over to grab a bite out of Meredith’s food only to get her hand slapped away. 

“Get your own food,” Meredith grumbled. “But yes, I can do that. Maybe I’ll even let her out early so she can get dressed up.”

“Great, I’m going to go do surgery,” Cristina stood up and made her way towards the door. 

“If those two get married and we’re not in the wedding, Alex will never hear the end of it,” Meredith shouted at a snickering Cristina as she walked away. 

  
  


+++

  
  


Jo didn’t want to be there. The last thing she wanted was to be on another meaningless date with some guy she didn’t care about at some restaurant she’d mentioned trying out one day to Alex. When she heard she was on Medusa’s service today, she’d hoped that Grey would pile on the scut so that she’d be forced to cancel. But to her surprise—and disdain—Grey let her leave early. So, she begrudgingly changed out of her scrubs and into the outfit that Stephanie had laid out for her and drove to the restaurant.

Everything within her was screaming to make a run for it and ditch the guy so that Steph would never bother her about finding a date again, but as someone who’d just screwed things up so badly with the one person she’d only ever really wanted to date, Jo decided it may have been best to put the horrendous experience behind her. That was becoming increasingly difficult, however, as the days she’d spent apart from Alex only led to feeling his absence that much stronger. 

So despite the overwhelming desire to go home and watch scary movies in her favorite pair of sweatpants, Jo got out the car and walked over to the entrance of the restaurant. She sighed as she told the host that she was looking for a reservation under the name Edwards. 

“Ah yes, the Edwards-Yang table. Right this way,” the hostess smiled at Jo. “Your date is already here. He’s really handsome and seemed nice enough. I hope it goes well.” 

Jo nodded half distracted as she allowed the young woman to guide her to the table where she’d have to endure another date. Jo stopped suddenly, not noticing that the hostess had paused and was pointing to a table with a man seated with his back towards them. 

“That’s him. Good luck!” The hostess chirped and turned around to leave them alone. 

Taking a deep breath, Jo readied herself and walked up to the table. She moved to stand in front of the man who she was supposed to be courting that evening and gasped, “Alex?”

“Jo?”

Jo gaped at him for a few moments, “You—what are you doing here?”

“Yang set it up, she said she was setting me up on a date tonight,” Alex answered quietly, still unsure of what was going on. “She told me I needed to get over—never mind. What are you doing here?”

“Stephanie told me the same thing,” Jo stared at him curiously. “Oh my God. We’ve been set up. They set us up.”=”

Alex snorted a laugh, “You’re kidding right? This is Yang we’re talking about. She doesn’t do things like these. She doesn’t care enough.”

“Well she obviously does or we both wouldn’t be here,” Jo looked at the empty seat across from Alex in question. “Why else would Grey let me out early instead of keeping me there to monitor her post ops?”

“You can sit down you know,” Alex motioned to the chair. His lips curved up into a slight grin. “I won’t bite.” 

Jo rolled her eyes and sat down quietly. The pair stared at each other awkwardly for a moment, fidgeting nervously as neither one of them knew what to say. It was never like this when they were together. Ever since they first started hanging out, there had been an immediate sense of comfortability. They had never needed to feel nervous or afraid when around each other because they just worked. That’s what was making the recent shift in their relationship so difficult. The kiss they’d shared brought up a whole slew of emotions that neither of them really knew how to handle. 

Maybe that’s why when they decided to break the tense silence, both of them stumbled on their words. 

“So, how was work?” “I haven’t seen you around in a bit.” 

“Sorry,” Jo let out a breathy laugh and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. 

“No, it’s okay. You first,” Alex shook his head and motioned for Jo to continue. 

“I, uh… ha,” Jo bounced her leg as she tried to shake the nerves off. “I said, how’s work?”

“Oh it’s uh, it’s good,” Alex shrugged awkwardly. “I got to operate on Hannah Gordon today. I got to remove her colostomy bag.” 

“Really? That’s the little girl who was in the accident at school, right? You finally got to operate? That’s fantastic. I wish I could’ve been there to see the look on her face when you told her that she no longer needs a poop bag anymore,” Jo smiled. 

“Yeah, she had the biggest grin on her face when I told her that the crap bag was gone and she could go back to school and do gymnastics again in a few months,” Alex mirrored Jo’s grin. 

“You see, that’s what I love about peds. There’s a special connection and follow-through that you get with peds patients than you do with adults,” Jo sighed. 

“Well, you are always welcome on my service. I know that you have to go through all the specialties, but if you feel like peds is something you might want to do one day, then I’d be more than happy to take you under my wing,” Alex smiled at her softly. “I can be your Robbins.” 

“My Robbins, huh?” Jo hummed. “We’ll see. I might have to take you up on that eventually.” 

Those comments seemed to have done it, because once Jo and Alex started talking, everything seemed right in the world again. They both relaxed and joked around with each other, making the dinner date that they had both been dreading, enjoyable. The hadn’t noticed how long they’d been in the restaurant talking when they realized that the staff had begun cleaning up all around them. 

“Oh wow, it’s ten o’clock already?” Alex wondered out loud as he looked down at his watch. 

“For real?” Jo raised an eyebrow and looked over to glance at the time. “Have we been here that long?” 

“I guess we have,” Alex chuckled. “I’m surprised they haven’t kicked us out yet.” 

“It might be because we haven’t paid yet,” Jo pointed at the check on the edge of the table, waiting for payment. 

“Yeah, that might be why,” Alex reached over and grabbed the receipt, stopping Jo’s protest. “I’ve got it. Don’t worry about it.” 

“Alex-” 

“Dude, chill. It’s not that big of a deal. Besides you’re an intern and you barely make any money. Consider it a gift,” Alex pulled some cash out of his wallet and deposited it on the table and stood up. “You ready?” 

“Yeah.” 

“I had fun tonight,” Alex’s mouth curved into a crooked half-smile. “It was the first date I’ve been on in a long time where I didn’t need to fake an excuse to get out of it.” 

Jo laughed lightly, “Same here.”

“So are we gonna talk about it?” Alex asked as they neared the car. 

“Talk about what?” Jo shrugged innocently, sighing when she unimpressed look on Alex’s face. “We kissed.” 

“We did,” Alex nodded quietly. “Why did you do it? You could’ve come up with plenty of other things to do so that I could help you get away from Peckwell, or whatever the hell his name is. Why did you kiss me?” 

“I don’t know.” 

“I think you do know,” Alex buried his hands in his pockets and leaned against her car. “But you’re too afraid to say it.” 

“I kissed you because I wanted to,” Jo confessed as she looked down at the ground beneath her. “I still want to, if I’m being completely honest.” Jo looked up at him, heart hammering in her chest as she said the words she’d been wanting to say for so long, “These past few months I’ve been on horrible dates. We’ve each been on horrible dates. And every single time we needed rescuing because for some reason they didn’t work out. So, I spent time thinking back to all those dates and trying to figure out why they went badly and I think I figured it out. I could on a hundred dates with a hundred really nice guys, but I will always need rescuing. They would always go badly and I’d need saving because those guys aren’t you. But with you… I never need saving with you. Because with you, I’m already safe.” 

Alex stared at her in wonder. He was quite honestly, speechless. That’s what she did to him. Jo rendered him completely and utterly speechless. He realized he’d been quiet for too long when Jo started rambling nervously about how she should’ve never said anything. 

Alex placed his hands gently on her face to bring her attention to him. He looked back and forth between her eyes and her mouth. Leaning in slowly, Alex pressed his lips against hers, bringing her into a sweet kiss. 

When they parted, Jo breathed in and out deeply, seemingly in shock of what had just happened. Seeing her dumbstruck expression, Alex chuckled slightly. She really had no idea how he felt about her. Deciding to take a chance, he opened his mouth and said the thing that had been threatening to spill out of his mouth for a few months now. 

“Jo, I love you.” 

“What?” Jo’s eyes widened at his confession.

“I love you,” Alex repeated, a large smile on his face. “I love you.” 

“You love me?” Jo asked shakily. “It’s not all in my head? You’re actually saying those words to me? And you mean them?” 

“Mmhmm,” Alex grinned brightly. “I’m in love with you. I’ve been in love with you for a while now and I want to be with you.” 

“Oh,” Jo’s mouth froze in that shape. “Woah.”

Alex leaned in for another kiss, “God I could do this forever.” 

“I can think of some other things we could do if we get out of here,” Jo whispered lowly, causing Alex’s eyebrows to shoot up in surprise. “I don’t normally make a habit out of sleeping with guys on the first date, but I think I can make an exception for you.” 

“As amazing as that sounds, I think I’m gonna make you wait,” Alex took a step away from Jo. 

“You’re gonna make me wait? You. Alex Karev. Are going to make me wait for sex?” Jo’s face displayed her disbelief. 

“I am,” a shit-eating grin made its way onto his face. 

“You’re kidding.”

“Nope,” Alex’s smile increased tenfold. 

“Are you seriously going to make me beg?” Jo narrowed her eyes. “Because I will beg. I have no shame in begging you to take me right here in the parking lot.” 

“You’re gonna be the death of me,” Alex groaned. His eyes softened after a moment. “Look, I know I have a… reputation, but I always jumped head first into sex with everyone. You’re not just anyone. You’re Jo and for the first time in my life, I want to do things differently. So, let me take you out a couple more times before you let me in your pants.” 

“Well when you put it like that, it makes you sound all sweet and sappy, and me sound like a slut because I want to jump into bed with you,” Jo laughed and let out a breath. “I’ve never had anyone who wanted me for more than my body or that wanted things to be special.” 

“I know,” Alex answered simply. “Which is why I am gonna make you wait. I want you, Jo. I love you. And I’m gonna show you that you mean something to me. More than just your body, which let me say…” Alex paused and gave her a once over as he allowed his hand to wander down her spine, causing her to shiver. “Is pretty incredible.”

Jo chuckled softly and kissed him, “Well, whenever you’re ready, it’s all yours.”

“Ugh,” Alex laid his head on her shoulder. “Okay, you need to go home before I pull you into the backseat.”

Jo laughed, “Alright, I’m going.” She unlocked her car and sat down in the driver’s seat, glancing up at Alex to give him a bright smile. “Goodnight.”

Alex’s face softened, “Goodnight.”


End file.
